The Court of King James
by rorypondtheboywholived
Summary: King James finds himself a Widower after the death of his wife, the Queen. He knows he must remarry and produce an heir before he is too old, but he falls in love with someone who cannot give him the child he needs for his family name to stay on the throne. [James Bond AU. 00Q, James/Vesper, James/Fields, James/Moneypenny]
1. The Bleeding Heart

Please note that I am writing this for a bit of fun and facts are likely to be slightly wrong since I have no idea how a King's Court works. I have googled some bits so hopefully that will help. I haven't written something like this before and I've used some of the Casino Royale book to help me a along a little. Nevertheless, I hope you enjoy. Please R&R so I know whether or not to continue!  
_**~Bethany**_

* * *

Eve knelt down on the floor of the palace kitchen next to another servant of the King named Q. No one knew his real name; sometimes she wasn't even sure that he knew his own name.  
'Did you hear?' Eve whispered as she grabbed a rag and started scrubbing the floor next to Q. Q looked over at her and raised his eyebrow.  
'Hear what?' he asked as he tried to scrub away a particularly stubborn piece of grime with a small frown upon his face.  
'King James has appointed a new lady in waiting to the Queen.' Eve kept her voice low. Any of the other servants might tell on her for spreading gossip just to gain favour with the King. It had happened before so she didn't see why it wouldn't happen again. Q stopped scrubbing for a moment and just stared straight at Eve. 'It's true. I overheard the Butler telling the Housekeeper, not very wise. He should have kept his voice down anyone might have heard him!' Eve covered her mouth to stop herself from bursting into laughter. Q bit his bottom lip to stop himself from laughing and carried on scrubbing the floors underneath his knees.  
'What is she like?' Q asked eventually after he spent five minutes scrubbing in silence. Eve shrugged and shook her head.  
'I don't know. She's probably very beautiful. He always picks the beautiful ones…' Eve dropped her rag into a rotting bucket. She ran her fingers through her ragged hair and twisted the ends between her fingers. Q shuffled over and put an arm around her.  
'You're beautiful too, Eve. I'm sure the King will notice you one day and you'll be the new lady in waiting before you know it.' Q said to her softly as he rubbed her arm gently for comfort. Eve rested her head on Q's shoulder.  
'Do you really think so?' she asked with a small smile.  
Q looked around to make sure no one was close enough to hear him and then lowered his head for good measure.  
'He would be mad not to.' He told her with a large smile.

Xx

As Q made his way around the castle throughout the day, he eventually caught sight of the new Lady in waiting who was following the Queen to the garden. The Lady in waiting was certainly different to the Queen, but she was equally as beautiful. Queen Vesper had long dark brown hair, red lips, blue-green eyes and wore a magnificent purple gown. The Queen could be bitter at times, and it was no secret that she and the King argued from time to time, but usually they were quite happy together. The Lady in waiting was very plain in the face. She had ginger mid length hair, nude lips, and brown eyes. Unlike the Queen's colourful display, she wore a plainer beige gown. Q stood and bowed as the Queen walked past.  
'Your majesty.' He said.  
The Queen nodded at him and Q went straight back to cleaning the floors. He watched the women walk away out of the corner of his eye as he did is duty. Eve was right, they always are beautiful, but none of the King's ladies had lasted as long as Vesper had, perhaps beauty is not such a virtue these days. King James' court was filled with beautiful women, Eve being one, the Queen and her Lady being two others, but there was also a young lady named Camille who was the Housekeeper, and another maid of the court named Severine.  
Q finished cleaning that corridor and went off to find Eve. He eventually found her still in the kitchen. The other servants to the King had gone and Eve sat alone in the corner of the room against the stove.  
'You should probably move away from there.' Q said, pointing towards the stove. 'The cooks will want to prepare the King's meal soon.' He tilted his head. 'Are you all right, Eve?' Q asked noticing her solemn expression. He sat beside her and gave her a quick hug.  
'I am just tired of serving the King in this way.'  
'If you work hard and work to the best of your ability now, the King is more likely to notice you and you might be able to become Lady in waiting someday.' He breathed. 'Speaking of Ladies in waiting, I've seen the new one. She is pretty, granted, but she's got nothing on you.'  
Eve smiled and got back up off the floor.  
'You're honestly the best friend a girl could ever ask for, Q.' Eve helped Q up off the floor and back on to his feet. They shared another quick hug before going to back to work before the cooks came.

Xx

'The garden is certainly lovely this time of year, your majesty.'  
The Queen walked around the huge glistening pond slowly, the gravel crunching beneath her feet. She stopped and looked down at the water which was deeper than it appeared.  
'The royal gardeners do a wonderful job on maintaining it, Miss Fields.' She answered her Lady in waiting as she bent down by the pond and running her fingertips gently through the fresh water. 'I've always liked the pond best off all.' Queen Vesper continued to say in her raspy voice. The Queen stood and took a deep breath of the fresh air around her.  
'It is a beautiful pond, your highness.' Miss Fields agreed. 'Will the King be joining us this afternoon?' she asked.  
'He will. When he arrives, I would like it if you left us alone.'  
'As you wish, your highness.'  
Around ten minutes later, King James of England and Wales joined his wife in the garden. Lady Fields took her leave but not before graciously greeting the King.  
The Queen watched Lady Fields make her way back inside the castle and then glared at her husband. She folded her arms across her chest and frowned.  
'I wish you would stop bringing other women into the court.' The Queen said sourly. The King smiled apologetically.  
'I thought she might have been useful to you, Vesper. That's all.' He put his arm around her waist and walked her around the vast, colourful garden. It was filled with rose bushes, fountains and archways.  
'I think you know how good looking and charming you are, and I think that you use that to bring in beautiful women because you need to keep your ego intact and you cannot do that married to me.' Vesper answered bitterly, but she didn't move away from her husband, she just kept her arms to herself.  
'You are my Queen and I love you. I wouldn't do something like that to you.' James explained. 'If Lady Fields bothers you, I can have her excused from my court.'  
'Thank you, James.' The Queen smiled. 'I hardly think that will be necessary just yet.'  
The King led his Queen back into Skyfall Castle and into the dining hall for dinner. Lady Fields was already stood behind her chair, waiting for The King and Queen. King James motioned for her to sit and so she did. James and Vesper sat in their own seats. They talked amongst themselves for a while until Eve and Q came into the dining hall and placed the food in the middle of the table.  
Q placed a plate in front of the King, who looked up at him and smiled.  
'Thank you.' He said softly.  
'You're welcome, sire.' Q answered bowing and walking away from the table. Eve eyed Q and the King's encounter from across the room from where she was serving Lady Fields. Q and Eve stood together in silence against the wall, waiting to clear plates and pour drinks for the two Royals and the Lady in waiting. Once the meal was over and all the plates had been collected, Eve and Q took them down to the kitchen.  
'I saw the way you were looking at the King.' Eve said with a small smile once they had reached the kitchen and dropped the plates carefully in to the sink. Q turned his head to her as he started to scrub the plates clean.  
'I'm sorry?' he said furrowing his brow.  
'You were looking at him in the same way that the Queen looks at him.' Eve continued as she dried the plates that Q had scrubbed clean.  
'I was? I didn't realise…' Q shrugged handing over another plate to Eve.

Xx

'Your Majesty, the Queen is dead!' Lady Fields cried out as she ran through the throne room and fell to her knees in a great frenzy. There were tears streaming down her cheeks and King James got to his feet immediately.  
'Are you sure?' he bellowed.  
'Yes, sire. I found her in the pond.' She cried harder.  
The King motioned toward his guards and two of them immediately ran forward and seized Lady Fields by the arms and dragged her to her feet.  
'Escort Lady Fields to the tower and do not let her go until I find out what has happened to my wife.' The guards nodded and dragged her away, Fields shouted and screamed and cried out for them to let her go but they kept a tight hold on her. After they had gone, the King ran to the garden as fast as his legs would carry him. He knelt beside the pond and looked in, where he saw his Queen lying at the bottom. James took off his robes and dived in, swimming down until he reached Vesper, he tried to bring her up but she was too heavy. He soon saw that there were heavy stones tied to her ankles with rope from a pair of curtains. James dislodged the rocks from the rope's grasp and pulled his Queen to the surface. He tried to revive her for ten minutes before accepting that she had gone. James sat on the ground, holding his wife close to him and pressed his lips against her forehead. A strong wind blew and with it came the sound of rustling parchment. James looked around and saw that there was indeed a piece of parchment tucked underneath a rock by the pond side. The King took it and unrolled it; he read the words written on it quickly and then threw it into the pond as if the parchment were read hot.

'My darling James,  
I love you with all my heart and while you read these words I hope you still love me because, now, with these words, this is the last moment that your love will last. So good-bye, my sweet love, while we still love each other. Good-bye, my darling.  
I have been sending Government secrets to Russia and have been working for the Russians long before we married. I was in love with a Pole in the R.A.F and until you, I still was. The Russians caught him and tortured him, they found out a lot from him and about me. They came after me and told me he could live if I work for them. I tried to give them as little information as I could. You must believe me about this. I fell in love with you and they wanted me to find things out from you, but I refused. They threatened me, and finally they withdrew my control and I knew my lover in Poland would have to die. I hoped I would have a baby of yours and be able to start again somewhere.  
I knew it would be the end of our love if I told you. I realised that I could either wait to be killed by the Russians, and perhaps get you killed too, or I could kill myself.  
There it is, my darling love. You can't stop me calling you that or saying that I love you. I am taking that with me and the memories of you. I've got to be brave. You might save my life, but I couldn't bear the look in your dear eyes.  
My love, my love.  
V.'

James found that his eyes were wet with something other than pond water and he dried them. At least now he knew the truth, and knew that Lady Fields hadn't murdered his Queen like he had suspected before.  
It didn't take long for the news of the Queen's death to travel round the Castle. Eve and Q were discussing it before lunch.

'What do you think happened?' Eve wondered.  
'I don't know.' Q answered.  
'I wonder how the King is holding up.'  
'I don't know. Not well I'm assuming.' Q said staring out the window hazily at the pond in which the Queen had lost her life.  
'I heard the King had Lady Fields locked away in the tour for murdering her.' Eve whispered. Q snapped out of his daze then and furrowed his brows at her.  
'Who told you that?'  
Eve sighed heavily.  
'The butler.'

The two of them carried on working for the next two hours before a one of the King's guards, Tanner, came before them.  
'Q, His Royal Highness the King would like to see you.'  
Eve looked a Q slightly worried but Q put down his rag and nodded.  
'Right away, sir.' He stood up, brushed the dirt off of his trousers and followed Tanner to the throne room. Once he was there, Tanner opened the door for him and Q stepped inside. The door closed leaving him alone in the throne room with the exception of James. The King sat in his throne and behind him was a painting of the late Queen. Q looked at it as he walked forwards, there was something unnerving about the portrait, it was as if Vesper was alive in it and she was still looking out for her husband even in death. When Q reached the King's feet, he knelt down.  
'You called, your Majesty?'  
'Stand up please, Q.' James instructed and Q stood up right away. 'I'm in need of a new butler since I had the previous one banished. I would like you to take his position; I think I can trust you, despite your age.'  
'Thank you, your highness. I will not let you down. ' Q smiled and bowed, but soon realised that he should not be acting in such a way at such a delicate time in the King's life and his smile dropped. 'I would also like to offer my condolences on your loss.'  
The King nodded solemnly.  
'Thank you, Q. Now, I must warn you, I will not have slander in my court, do I make myself clear?' James asked sternly with wide eyes. It was then that Q noticed how breath-taking that the King's eyes were. They were the bluest blue that Q had ever seen.  
'Crystal clear, my lord.' Q said. '_As clear as your eyes_.' He thought.  
'Good. Tanner will escort you to your room and your duties start tomorrow. '  
'Thank you, my lord. I cannot express my gratitude enough.' Q bowed and walked out of the throne room. Sure enough, Tanner was waiting for him and he took him up some stairs to a room that used to be inhabited by the previous butler. It was quite a big room and there was a bed with soft pillows and sheets. He had his own window overlooking the front of Skyfall Castle and inside the wardrobe were a line of black suits. Q took out one of the blazers and put his arms through it. It practically hung off of him and would definitely need tailoring. He ran his hands over the material and smiled as he thought of all the great things that were about to come his way.


	2. Memories

I'm glad that those of you read the first chapter somewhat enjoyed the first chapter. I hope you like this one too and please do R&R, I find feedback very helpful!  
_**~Bethany**_

* * *

Q pulled open the heavy red velvet curtains of the King's bedchamber. The sun poured into the room and consumed the two people who occupied it. The King groaned and turned over in his bed, pulling the covers over his head so that he did not have to face the day.  
'Good morning, your majesty.' Q said with a smile. He picked up the silver tray that he had placed on the bedside table before he had opened the curtains and stood by the bed. 'Smoked salmon on Dill and Mustard seed scones, squeezed oranges, crumpets and tea for you, Sir.'  
The King pulled the covers away from his head and reluctantly pushed himself upright. Q handed him over the tray and bowed low.  
'Thank you, Q.' James said sleepily through a small yawn which made his eyes scrunch up, making the wrinkles that were appearing around them more noticeable.  
'Will that be all, Sire?' The new butler asked, he placed his hands behind his back and stood up straight with his feet together so he might look more professional.  
'Yes, thank you, Q. You may go.' James gestured towards the door and Q bowed again before he left.

He walked quickly down to the kitchen where Eve was busy cleaning the stove ferociously with a scrubber. Q stood behind her and tapped her on the shoulder, making her jump and turn around quickly. Eve looked at Q in disbelief as she saw his suit. She gently touched the material with wide eyes. Before Eve could even ask, Q was explaining everything at a thousand miles per hour.  
'The King made me his butler!' he said almost squealing. Both Eve and Q started jumping and laughing with happiness. Eve hugged him tightly.  
'Congratulations!' She said with an empty smile, secretly wishing that is was her who had been giving the promotion, but she was genuinely pleased that her friend was moving up in the hierarchy.  
'Thank you.' Q tilted his head and sighed. 'I wish you could be the housekeeper, Eve. I'm going to miss cleaning the floors with you.' He smiled weakly and squeezed Eve's hand.

Xx

'Your Majesty?' A voice came from behind the King. The King turned and saw that his Adviser had come to see him.  
'Yes, M?' He said with a sigh as he scratched his unshaven face.  
'I know it has only been a few days since the death of your Lady wife, God bless her soul, but now that there is no Queen, there cannot possibly be an heir. If it's not too bold of me to say, Sir, you are starting to progress in years. If there is no heir soon, the Bond name will no longer be on the throne.' He explained walking in front of the King. James just breathed heavily and excused the advisor; he wasn't in the mood to be listening to him, or his advice, today. He knew that he needed an heir, he wasn't stupid, but he wasn't in love with anyone else apart from Vesper. He didn't want to marry someone else, especially not so soon. It had only been a few days after all, and remarriage definitely wasn't on his mind. Any time he thought of marriage his head would automatically drift to the day that he married Vesper. He could see her walking down in the aisle with her hair curled and pinned neatly in place, but a few curls from the front had fallen away, her lips were pale and her wedding dress was whiter than white.

'_You look beautiful.' He whispered to her as they stood side by side at the altar. Vesper momentarily laid her head on James' shoulder and whispered back a small 'thank you.' She moved her head again so she could stand up straight and look more regal in stature as she married the King. Vesper's veil had caught on James' collar and broke away from her hair once she moved. The material toppled off of James' shoulder and on to the tiled floor beneath their feet. They laughed for about a second and then James bent down and picked it up for her; he slid the comb in which the veil was attached to, back into Vesper's hair. She smiled gently as James moved his hand to Vesper's face and softly ran his thumb across her cheek bone. A cough came from the priest and James' hand dropped away from Vesper and the both of them put all their attention to him. But not for very long.  
'Sorry,' James said softly, 'she's just so beautiful I can't help myself sometimes.'  
Vesper frowned at James a little.  
'Did you want to have a chat or did you want to get married?' She asked him through her teeth which she gritted tightly so she didn't start an argument with him on their wedding day.  
The small crowd that sat to watch shuffled awkwardly in their chairs, none of them daring to say a word. The priest went on with the ceremony after that, settling things down until they were pronounced man and wife and there was a roar of celebration._

James walked through the cold and drafty tower until he reached the cell that Lady Fields resided in. Fields was sitting on a chair in the corner, doing what looked like embroidery. When the guards saw the King approaching the cell gates, they immediately opened them. The gates were old and rusting, and when they opened they let out a loud groan, it was this groan that made Fields look up and take notice of her surroundings. The mere sight of the King made her stand.  
'Come take a walk with me.' He said simply. James walked away back down the corridor of the tower. Fields dropped her embroidery and ran to catch him up, holding up the skirt of her dress so she didn't trip on it, or step on it and tear it.  
They walked side by side in silence for a while; James took Fields to the courtyard where they walked a while in circles, James kept his hands folded behind his back, whilst Fields walked with them in front of her. 'I wanted to apologise for sending you straight to the tower without hearing what else you had to say.' James stopped in his tracks and looked at the young woman with soft eyes.  
Fields took a few steps back so she was not standing so close to him and shrugged her shoulders gently.  
'I understand perfectly, your Majesty. If I were you, I would have suspected foul play also.' Fields explained with a smile. 'I would like to offer my condolences to you in this difficult time.'  
James took in a deep breath and exhaled through his nose.  
'Thank you.' He looked at Fields closely, taking in every feature of her face, noticing that her natural beauty shone from her despite being locked away for a few days. 'How rude of me, but I believe that I have not asked you for your forename.' James brought his hands out from behind his back and dropped them to his sides. Lady Fields watched him with a close eye and let out a small laugh which she covered daintily with her hand.  
'Strawberry, Sire. Strawberry Fields.'  
The King's hand was in Lady Fields' hair, he twisted a small clump in his fingers.  
'That is an unusual name but it is very fitting for a girl of your colour.' He let go of her and his hands returned to behind his back. 'Not to mention beautiful.'  
James began to walk again, but this time he started moving towards the garden. Lady Fields followed on a few steps behind him.  
'You flatter me, Sir.'  
'You deserve to be.'

The garden looked different now. The flowers seemed dead and overgrown; the grass wasn't as neat cut as it had been before. The fountains had stopped spouting water and the stone was chipped away. The whole place was dead and dreary; it gave Lady Strawberry Fields the shivers. James stopped walking once he reached the pond, he stared down at it and Fields stood beside him, looking into the water as she had done when she had found the body of her Queen lying at the bottom. The water didn't seem as clear any more.  
'I'm having the pond removed.' The King announced to his company. Lady Fields looked up at the King, who was unshaven, she thought that he might not have shaved since the death of his wife, and he was certainly sad looking, but she could see that he was trying to keep a strong composure. Fields felt a huge amount of sympathy for the widower King; she couldn't imagine losing someone she loved in such a way.  
'It is understandable, your highness. Why bother keeping a bad memory? That memory is only going to plague you.'  
'Well exactly.' James agreed. He could just see the piece of parchment at the bottom of the pond in which Vesper had written her suicide note upon and he watched it as it just sat there, doing nothing but reminding him that his wife had been betraying him for years and then killed herself. 'Lady Fields, now that there is no Queen for you to wait upon-'  
The red haired woman spoke before the King could continue.  
'You would like me to leave your court?' She said to him, turning around so she didn't have to look at the pond any longer. Instead she found herself looking at the Castle. James turned around also and raised an eyebrow.  
'Not at all. Actually, I feel like I could use some female company.'

Xx

Q's shoes echoed and squeaked as he walked along the newly polished floors. He knocked gently on the throne room door and waited for the King to allow him to enter, once he was given permission, he walked up to the King and bowed. The portrait of the late Vesper Lynd that hung on the wall behind the throne still made him feel uncomfortable. Lady Fields was sat at the King's side, finishing the embroidery which she had started when she was locked away in the tower.  
'Sir, I hate to feel like I am being ungrateful but I was wondering why you made me your new butler so quickly? Don't they have to go through a training process?' Q asked keeping his hands clasped behind his back. He avoided looking the King in the eyes just in case he was disappointed or angry with him for some reason.  
James sat forward in his chair and took in a deep breath. Q could see that he was trying to think of the right way to say his answer.  
'It is because I believe that you do not need it. You're a natural at this job. However, since you are new to the job, please don't feel like asking me questions is rude or forbidden. I welcome the curious mind sometimes.' The King smiled at his servant graciously.  
'Thank you, Sir.' Q nodded and a smile came across his face for about half a second. He then turned to Lady Fields and bowed to her as well. 'Thank you again, your Majesty. God bless you, and her majesty the Queen.'  
Q let himself out and went off to see if he could find Eve. Lady Fields watched him walk away, and James sat back in his throne and rested his chin on his hand.  
'What a sweet boy.' Fields mused. 'Pray tell me his name.'  
'I honestly don't know. It's always just been Q.' James shrugged.  
Lady Fields laid the embroidery carefully on her lap and looked at the King with wide eyes.  
'Then perhaps you talk to him and find out.' She picked her embroidery back up and went back to work on it, pulling the needle through the cloth and then back again adding more to the pattern. 'Besides, if you don't mind me saying, I think you could use a male friend at this difficult time.'  
James looked at Strawberry for a second, then to the door that Q escaped from and the corner of his mouth upturned into a tiny smile.

_'Vesper, darling, was there any need to throw your pillow at me?' James asked laughing as he caught the pillow that had come flying towards him from Vesper's direction. Vesper was grinning as she put on her dressing gown when she felt James' arms around her waist and his warm breath on the nape of her neck.  
'I needed to get up, James, and you wouldn't have let me go otherwise.' She smiled and turned to face her husband. They shared a small kiss and a smile and Vesper ran her hands across James' bare chest longingly, slightly regretting her decision to get out of bed. 'Plus what if the Butler came in with breakfast and saw us?' Vesper pointed out.  
James held his wife tighter and flashed a wicked grin.  
'He would have had to have knocked and I would have ordered him to come back in an hour.' He kissed Vesper's neck tenderly and then mumbled, 'maybe two.'  
Vesper grinned as wildly at her husband and walked away from him so that she could sit at her vanity desk and brush her hair.  
'Well that is a little optimistic of you.' Vesper's smile turned into a smirk as the hairbrush glided through her dark hair. James put on his own robe and tied it around the waist.  
'Don't ruin a lovely morning with sarcasm.' James said as he pulled open the curtains. The day seemed dark and it looked like it might rain. A knock was heard on the door and James practically bounded over to answer it. He knew it would only be the Butler with the breakfast but he still acted like seeing him at the door was a surprise. 'Thank you, Carter.' He beamed taking the tray that he held in his hand. 'That will be all for now.'  
'Good morning, Carter.' Vesper called from inside the bedchamber.  
'Good morning, your highness, and to you too, Sire.' He bowed and left again, a little bewildered that he did not have to do much that morning. James closed the door and placed the tray on the bedside table.  
'I have a feeling that today is going to be a marvellous day.' He walked over to Vesper and kissed her on the cheek, completely unknowing that today would be one of the worst days of his life, and this would be the last breakfast he would ever share with his wife._

Xx

'So how is the new job?' Eve asked Q as she washed her hands after finishing her days work. Q pulled up his jacket as it started to slide off his shoulders.  
'It's good. The pay is better; I have a nice room, nice clothes. Keeping all the other male servants in line is difficult though. It's probably because I don't look very authoritative.' Q smiled hopelessly and pulled on his jacket again. Eve dried her hands on her tattered dress and sat down on one of the wooden stools in the kitchen.  
'You really ought to get that tailored.' She nodded towards the jacket and then reached out a hand and straightened out the lapel. Q just let the jacket slide off his shoulders again, tired of holding it up.  
'I know. I may ask the King tomorrow if someone would be able to do it.' He breathed out heavily and yawned. Eve rest her head in her hand and sighed, staring at nothing in particular in a dreamy fashion.  
'Being the King's Butler must be wonderful. You get so many extra things and you can ask him for favours and days off. Not to mention you are allowed in his bedchamber every morning.'  
Q furrowed his brown and pulled his jacket back on, he folded his arms so it would stay in place.  
'I, uh, I'm not exactly concerned about that…' Stammered Q and swallowing the lump that had formed in his throat.  
Eve lifted her head back up and smiled.  
'Oh, I wouldn't be concerned either.' She flashed a grin, bit her bottom lip and sent a wink flying in her friend's direction. Q looked around to see how many people were around.  
'Eve, I wouldn't be talking about the King like that if I were you.' He said in a low tone. 'I'm going to bed now, I'm exhausted and I need to be up early tomorrow.' Q smiled apologetically, hugged Eve goodnight and went upstairs to his bedroom. He rid himself of that blasted jacket and lay on the bed, staring up at the ceiling with his hands behind his head. His eyes started to get fuzzy the longer he looked at the swirling patterns in the ceiling and had to turn over on the bed so he was facing the wall. Eventually he found enough energy to undress and climb under the bed covers so he could sleep, but no matter how much he tried to sleep, he couldn't. There was something lurking in the back of his mind, he knew it was there, he just didn't know what it was._  
_


	3. A Rose By Any Other Name

This might be the last chapter for a while since school is about to start again and I have exams to prepare for. I hope that you enjoy this, please R&R and Happy New Year!  
_**~Bethany**_

* * *

It had taken Q a lot longer to find his way to the King's bedchamber for breakfast that morning, and once he had reached it, he accidentally walked into the door, sending the silver tray crashing to the floor along with its contents. He fell on to his knees, trying to clean up the mess of food, tea and broken china. The door in front of him swung open and Q looked up to see the King standing there in his dressing gown which had quickly been shoved on and tied around his waist carelessly since the majority of his chest was showing.

"What on earth are you doing, Q?" James asked furrowing his brow and watching his butler scrabble at the final pieces of china.

Q stared up at his King and stuttered. "I...I walked into the door, Sir. I'm very sorry."

"You have not had this issue before; I take it that you aren't extremely awake this morning?" James asked, leaning against the door frame, watching as Q stood up again with the tray.

The butler shuffled his feet and licked his bottom lip, wanting to say something but not being sure whether he should. "Actually…" he decided to say it after all. "Recently I have found my eyesight to be quite hazy. I fear, Sir…" Q paused feeling silly and regretting saying anything at all now. "I fear that I might be going blind."

James frowned slightly and beckoned Q to come into the bedchamber, Q obliged and stood awkwardly by the door in case he needed an easy exit.  
"Going blind, you say?" James asked as he shut the door.

"Yes, Sir." Q replied. Suddenly the tray was lifted out of his hands and he could hear the broken china rolling on it as it was being carried. James placed the tray on the bedside table.

"Tell me; from where you are now, how many fingers do you believe me to be showing you?" James lifted his hand and showed Q three of his fingers.

Q squinted and paused with his mouth hanging open ever so slightly. "Two…" he said unsurely. "No, three…two? Four?"

James dropped his hand and walked forward. "There is definitely something not quite right there. I will fetch you my physician and we shall see what he can do."

"Thank you, Sir." Q bowed slightly and hesitated before speaking again. "There was another thing, Sir…"

"And what would that be?" James wondered.

Q pulled his jacket over his shoulders. "I was rather hoping that my new clothes could be tailored to my size."

James inspected the butler and nodded. "Of course. They do rather swamp you, don't they?"  
"Yes, Sir, they do." Q agreed and James smiled.

"Come back in an hour and I'll have the physician and the tailor have a look at you." James saw Q raise his hands to point towards the silver tray. "Don't bother with breakfast; I can live without it for a day. Do bring someone up to clean the carpet before it stains though, won't you?"

Q gave a little side smile. "Of course, Sir. Would you like me to take the tray?"

James went over and picked the tray back up and handed it to the butler. "If you wouldn't mind"

"Of course not, Sir." Q bowed, smiled and left the bedchamber. For some reason he felt extremely excited. He went down to the kitchen and threw away the broken pieces of china; the food dropped on the floor and placed the tray into the sink. Some of the servants stared as he did so, wondering what had happened, but none of them said anything, except for Eve.

"What the hell happened?" she asked as she wiped her hands on her dress.

"It was just a little accident." Q shrugged sending his jacket sliding slightly off his shoulders. "Could you go upstairs to the King's bedchamber? I dropped the tray on the floor and there's a little mess outside of his door."

Eve laughed lightly. "Of course I can." She smiled and picked up a cloth and a wooden bucket of warm water and soap. She carried the bucket carefully through the corridors and up the stairs. There wasn't much of a mess to clean up anyway, so she set the bucket down and kneeled down. Eve submerged the cloth in the water which warmed up her hand and she did not want to remove it. She finally did so and scrubbed violently at the darker mark on the carpet that had been left by her friend.

"Am I right in saying that you're Miss Moneypenny?" A voice came from above her and she looked up to see the King, fully dressed in his robes. Eve stood and curtseyed at him.

"I am, Sir." She confirmed quietly.

"I thought Q would have sent up one of his boys." James looked Eve up and down and she noticed his eyes inspecting her.

Eve wiped her wet hand on her dress and smiled at her King. "He's my friend, Sir. We used to work together in the kitchen; I suppose he sent me because he knows me." She shrugged very lightly.

James scratched his still unshaven cheek. "I don't suppose you know his name, do you?"

"No, Sir. He's always just been Q." Eve said to him, and James sighed heavily.

"Does anyone know his name?" James asked feeling defeated.

Eve shook her head. "Not that I'm aware of."

"Okay, thank you Miss Moneypenny. Keep up the good work." James said, slightly annoyed that a name was giving him so much bother. He walked past her and down the corridor, and Eve just smiled to herself and carried on cleaning the carpet.

Xx

"Judging by the tests you have completed for me, I think you just need a pair of spectacles." The physician smiled. "You're not going blind just yet."

Q's smile was wide, causing dimples to appear in his cheeks. "That is a relief. Thank you."

They physician got up from his chair. "I'll have your spectacles made up for you by the end of the week."

"Thank you. If you could now fetch the tailor for me, that would be marvellous." The King said to his physician as he led him out of the bed chamber and closed the door, leaving Q and the King alone. James sat down in a chair a metre or two away from Q and stared at him for a moment or two.

"There's something about you that bothers me." James said in a huff as he rested his chin on his hand.

Q sat up a little straighter, unsure what it was that was causing the King to be bothered. "What would that be, Sir?"

The King stared softly at Q, his bright blue eyes meeting eyes of green-grey. "No one knows your name."

"That would be because I don't have one, Sir." Q shrugged a shoulder.

James sat forward in his chair. "Everyone has a name."

"I suppose they do, and I must also. Only, I do not know it." Q admitted. "I don't even know if my name begins with a Q. I don't care though, it doesn't bother me. I think, Sir, the only person it bothers, is you." Q instantly regretted his choice of words, he thought he sounded rude.

James nodded. "Lady Fields suggested that I get to know you, because she thought I needed a friend, but how can I know you when I can't even put a name to you?"

Q paused for a moment. "Because knowing my name doesn't mean that you automatically know me. Everyone knows your name and who you are because you're always in the limelight. Especially now after…you know…" Q paused again and looked up at James who signalled for Q to carry on talking, The King was completely interested in what he was going to say and what direction he would take with his point. "What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet; so Romeo would, were he not Romeo call'd retain that dear perfection which he owes."

James paused and smirked. "Did you just try to prove your point by calling yourself Romeo?" He asked with a smile.

"That's not what I meant…" Q scratched his head.

James laughed and placed his hand on the young butler's shoulder. "I know what you meant."

The door was thrown wide and the King's tailor came into the room with his tape measure hanging around the back of his neck and shoulders, and a small pad of paper and a pencil. Q stood up and was immediately led to the middle of the room, James stayed where he was, watching as the tailor measured Q, his arms, chest, waist, and his legs. He wrote down each measurement on the paper he had brought.

"That is all done for you. I'll sew in a few of the suits and I'll let you know when I have finished." The tailor put his measuring tape back around his shoulders and James showed him out.

There were a few moments of silence and Q was sure he was about to be fired or punished for talking to the King like he did. Although, if he was going to be fired, wouldn't the King have done that by now?

James circled Q for a moment and then stopped in front of him. "I think Lady Fields is right, as much as I hate to admit it." The King gave a little smile. "Perhaps I do need a friend. Besides, I'm going to need someone to complain to about M's persistence on my remarriage."

"Isn't it a bit…soon?" Q wondered, feeling more comfortable knowing that he wasn't going blind, that his suits were being altered and that the King had accepted him as a friend. Everything was looking up now.

James sighed. "Yes it is, Q. This is exactly why I'm not doing it." The King sat back down again. "Sit down, Q."

Q immediately sat in the chair he was sat in before the tailor had come. "Would you marry again someday?"

"Perhaps. The only reason people are pushing me to remarry is so I can have an heir." James sighed heavily. The wind could be heard from the open window of the King's bedchamber, and they could also hear the sound of breaking stone coming from the garden where the gardeners were tearing down the pond. "What about you, Q? Are you married?" James asked trying to block out the noise.

The dark haired man shook his head. "I am not."

"I thought that a man of you stature would be by now." The King mused to himself. "Is there anyone at all you like?" he asked.

Q wriggled in his chair. "There might be, Sir. I just don't know whether I do like them. Love is a complicated thing." He looked down at his hands and a started picking at the skin.

James agreed. "What about Miss Moneypenny? You two are close, aren't you? Is there something there?"

"She isn't…my type, Sir. We are nothing more than best friends." Q slid down in his chair slightly, hoping that James wouldn't say anything more about the matter. Luckily for him, M had just come to see the King and was standing in the door way.

"Yes, M?" James asked exasperated, especially since he knew what M was going to talk to him about.

"A list of eligible women for you to marry has been compiled for you, your Majesty. I suggest that you take a look." M said handing over a piece of rolled up parchment.

James unrolled it and read through the names.

Lady Fields.  
Tiffany Case.  
Dominetta Vitali.  
Teresa di Vicenzo.  
Anya Amasova.  
Melina Havelock.  
Octavia Smythe.  
Stacey Sutton.  
Natalya Simonova.  
Wai Lin.  
Camille Montes.

"I know two of these women. One of them works for me, and the other was Vesper's lady in waiting." James raised an eyebrow at M.

M nodded. "I know, Sir. I suggest that you make Lady Fields your wife since you already know her."

James stood up and walked towards Mallory. "Do I need to remind you who is King? I shall marry whomever I so wish, whenever I so wish. You're here to advise me, not to control me."

"Yes, your majesty. However, without an heir…" Mallory was cut off before he could finish speaking.

"My family name will not be on the throne, I know. Thank you, M. Now please leave." James asked, rubbing his forehead with his index and middle fingers.

Mallory took his leave and Q looked over at James who seemed very tense.

"Can I get you anything? A cup of tea, perhaps?" Q wondered.

James shook his head and took a few deep breaths before speaking again. "Actually, yes. Get me a bottle of scotch and two glasses." He crumpled the parchment in his hand.

"Two, Sir?" Q said standing from his chair.

"Yes, Q. Two. I wish to drink with you." James said, still irritated by his adviser.

Q grinned lightly and stood up straight with his hands behind his back. "I must warn you, Sir, I rarely drink anything stronger than Earl Grey."

James shrugged and shut his window so he didn't have to hear the sounds of the pond being destroyed for any longer. "Well it's high time that you learned."

Xx

Two hours later, the King and his butler were laughing on the floor of the King's bedchamber, sitting against the foot of the bed. The butler was laughing because he was drunk and he couldn't stop hiccupping, and the King was laughing _because_ Q was drunk and he couldn't stop hiccupping.

Q tried to drink some of his scotch backwards in an attempt to stop the hiccupping but all he managed to do was spill it down his suit and on the carpet.

"Take off your jacket, it's soaked." The King suggested. Q fumbled with his jacket and placed it next to him, he knew he should probably put it by the window to dry, or take it downstairs to the laundry room to be washed and dried, but he knew that he could not stand without falling over.

James got up himself and placed it on the window. "I like you, Q. You're a good butler, despite the fact that you still have spots,"

"My complexion is hardly relevant." Q said through hiccups.

"Your competence is." Answered James.

"Age is no guarantee of efficiency"

"And youth is no guarantee of innovation." James smiled.

Q looked at James for a moment. "I'll hazard I could do more damage to your government sitting in my bed clothes before my first cup of Earl Grey than you could do in a year as King."

James looked down at the drunken butler with a scowl. "Was that a threat?" he asked sitting back down next to him.

The butler looked deep into the King's bright eyes and shook his head. "More of a friendly warning." Q smiled showing his dimples again but that smile soon dropped and so did a feeling in his chest. "I don't feel too good…"

"Alcohol will do that to you." James got back up and helped up Q as well, who stumbled about like Bambi on ice. The King led Q to his bathroom and bent him slightly over the sink.

Just as James suspected that he might, Q vomited. Once he was done, James made him rinse his mouth out with some water and gave him the rest of the day off to recover.

Q gave a weak smile. "Thank you, Sir."

The young butler's heart felt like it might have exploded when James smiled back and patted him on the back. "You're welcome. I think you will be more careful next time, since you know what to expect."

"Yes, Sir." Q nodded and then hiccupped again. James got Q's jacket for him and wrapped it around his shoulders since he saw that Q had started shivering.

James' hand lingered on Q's shoulder for a little while. "Do you think you can get to your room?"

"I think so." Q answered.

The King led Q out of his bed chamber and watched as Q stumbled across the hallway and out of sight. It took him about ten minutes to make his way down to the kitchen where Eve was working. Eve spotted there was something wrong almost immediately and sat him down.

"Why do you reek of scotch?" She asked handing him a glass of water. Q took it and sipped meekly.

"I'm in big trouble, Eve." He said.

Eve ran her fingers through Q's hair to try and calm him down. "What's wrong?"

Q stuttered for a moment or two before he managed to whisper his words so no one else could hear his confession.

"I think I might be in love with him."


End file.
